A SONG OF SOUL

Advent 4th Week

Luke 1:46-56

Background

Gospels emphasize more on Jesus’ public life than his childhood. The attitude on Jesus’ public life and his childhood varies according to the gospel. Mark’s gospel was the earliest written where as John’s was the last gospel that dealt with Jesus public life. Jesus’ public life only began when he was about thirty. However, Matthew and Luke also dealt with the myth of Jesus’ birth. Matthew’s gospel wrote the news of Jesus’ birth that delivered to Joseph the fiancé and Luke’s gospel directly to Virgin Mary. Its author caused the differences (what is it? What differences?). Matthew’s gospel was written by Matthew who emphasized on the Jewish tradition. The author of Luke’s gospel gave emphasis on the gentiles, women, children and neglected people. However, when we read the text today we have to premise that this text is written under a theological background.

Let’s briefly observe the background of today’s content. It is similar to a stage background, (what?) takes an important role in a play. Luke closely connects the birth of Jesus to that of John the Baptist. Luke explains how Elizabeth got pregnant in Luke 1:5-25. Elizabeth was barren due to her old age but got pregnant like Hannah who gave birth to Samuel at her old age. Six months after her pregnancy, Mary also entered into the maternity line. At that time Mary got engaged with Joseph but didn’t marry him. The fact they didn’t marry signifies they hadn’t slept yet. However, pregnant Mary visited Elizabeth. Once Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"(Luke 1:42-45). The contents we read today are Mary’s reply to the greeting of Elizabeth.

You may probably know well about the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary. This is an introduction to a beautiful folktale that gives new inspiration despite repeated reading at the season of Advent and Christmas. According to the description of the Bible, two women both got pregnant in a specific way. The angel Gabriel noticed their pregnancy in advance. Elizabeth was over age to be pregnant and Mary was unmarried. One side was too old and the other was too young. Both women became pregnant in an abnormal way. In that case the concerned parties cannot be but confused. It’s hard to balance (what?) not knowing what is what. As a widow know what another widow goes through, two women met together and shared a spiritual conversation that only two of them could understand.

Those who are with discerning power might wonder about this story. Elizabeth was a woman with plenty of life experience and might be able to talk to(about?) a religious story but Mary was mere 15, 16 year old lass. It seems unnatural that such young lass could sing the song that contained a content of social revolution. If your thought reaches to this point then you’re closed to the text of Bible.

On the other side, the question “Had Mary sung such song?” is not much important. For now we don’t know about Mary’s childhood. The author of Luke might dictate the handed down song. It might be either original Mary’s song or just the author connected the tradition to Mary thought. Though we cannot catch a clear reality of origin, however this song surely contains in it Early Christian faith. We now should ask this way. Why did early Christian community, precisely Luke community sing such a song? Whats the song about?

A Song of soul

What were you thinking while you’re reading the song today? Did you have any feeling that the song lead you into the spiritual world? In many cases people read the Bible text half-heartedly. Those who have little spiritual desire read the Bible in order to get religious satisfaction. In this status we can never identify with the text despite our fanatic attitude. Rather the important point is that we have to read the Bible text following as it leads us. Then we are able to identify with the Bible text. To follow wherever Bible leads is the right way to read Bible and it may help us to catch the deeper meaning ‘my soul’.

We can hear such praising song from Mary. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (46, 47) What is the meaning of ‘My soul glorifies’? When we often encounter such expression in the Bible we used to skip it without paying much attention. We think we are living by spirit when we become husky caused by shouting prayer or carry a worn out Bible due to too much reading. Such fervent faith life also is necessary. However, such things are mere a healthy religious custom. We can attend early Morning Prayer for 365 days without missing even a single day. The followers of ‘Jehovah witness’ think to preach their religious doctrine by visiting house by house as their absolute duty. People can behave this way with their fervent zeal and persistent effort. The fact that ‘my soul glorifies the Lord’ has a totally different level from such religious behavior or discipline.

At this very moment my message may meet a certain limitation. Because I am not able to correctly deliver the meaning of ‘soul’. I wouldn’t explain it theologically nor tell my short experience about soul. Rather I would like to approach to this at the common sense level. What do you think what soul is? If you are thinking the worship we are doing now is the act of praising God from your soul, then how about your status now? Do you feel the identification of your body and soul? The soul indicates us when our body and spirit became one.

Generally we aren’t living by ‘soul’. It means the separation of our spirit and body. Of course, outwardly it seems spirit and body is separated but practically it is one. The separation of spirit and body means we are seeing this world formally. Then with status we cannot hang on our entire existence and destiny to our life. Our life is composing of just the series of trials to solve the puzzle of which answers have already given by this world. Let’s ask ourselves like this. Where do I hang on my entire existence? In fact the fact itself to hang on everything seems even meaningless for modern people. For ‘a song of soul’ is only given by the relationship with God. For modern people who ignore such spiritual horizon in their life, singing the song of soul is almost impossible from the beginning.

Yes. Soul is a path to communicate with God. So in Mary’s song the author of Luke’s gospel today continues as following in verse 47. “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Such rejoicing makes us praise the Lord. To some such explanation may sound stereotypical. It happens because of their ignorance about the savior God. God is the savior of man. The idea about him is rightly connected to the salvation matter. What is more fundamental than salvation? Those who are penetrating death, nihility, despair and meaningless of this world cannot pass by salvation matter. Literature says salvation and even the matter of terror also are connected to salvation. At this point the attitude to dig completely into the matter of salvation is rightly to praise by spirit. Those who are saved, precisely speaking, those who know God the savior, cannot but sing a song of soul.

The almightiness of God

How does Mary sing of God’s salvation activity? Today’s content clearly explains it. The fact is that the activity takes the way of reversal.

Look at verses 51-53. “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” This meaning of this word is similar to Isaiah 61:1,2 Jesus quoted. (Luke 4:18). Not only this, but also it is similar to the Sermon on the Plane of Luke’s gospel which runs parallels to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel. (6:21-26).

Who are the proud, the rulers and the rich? On the contrary, who are the humble and the hungry? Every place in human society has such hierarchy. The society may be well maintained but it is impossible to avoid such division, discrimination and conflict. The failure of communism that Marx dreamt to establish a complete equal society is the proof of this. Mary sings that God completely renews such hierarchical and twisted society. This is a song to make the society equal by bringing down the proud and lifting up the humble sound a little improper according to a listener. The gospel of Christianity never tolerates an evil order, which is fixed by man.

However Christian today lost all such abilities to bring down the proud and lift up the humble. In ancient society, once Christianity became a state religion of Roman Empire by Constantine it caused to lose that ability. And now conspiring with capitalism becomes the cause of losing that ability. Some Christians don’t want to lose their position or properties. They are afraid of changing their life. Then what shall we do after reading today’s content? Should we find out the proud, the ruler and the rich and deprive them by force? But the Bible doesn’t teach a church to practically come out for social revolution. Making the proud shameful is not the work of the church. Our soul cannot praise the Lord in this way. It drills us at a moment but cannot lead us to praise the Lord. The praise of Mary concentrates on the power of the Lord. God is the almighty and holy. (49,51). God only can bring down the rulers from their thrones. (52) We have to fear him. (50) For them the Lord extends his mercy. What does Luke tell us? The key point is only the Lord can fulfill the newness of this World.

If you want to feel this word a little more vividly you have to keep in your mind the times when Luke’s gospel was written. Mary’s song sounded like the Liberation theology or Marxism’s manifesto because it was written when the Roman Empire’s power leaped high into the sky. Isn’t it wonderful that God brings down and rules over the absolute power that everybody were afraid of? Mary’s sight to concentrate on the Almighty totally ignored the power of Roman Empire.

Now we face a tension in the actual life of Christianity. Social change and the actualization of revolution are not the fundamental goals of our faith, different from a certain party or a civic society. But we expect a fundamental change by the Lord. Then how can we Christians live? Should we wait by only praying? Or should practically participate in world history? These two attitudes, that is, waiting and participation is two types of life style that are revealed in the believers of the Almighty God. Those who sing a song of soul do not miss this tension between ‘waiting and participation. Sometimes wait and sometimes participate. It goes together in Christian’s life.